Jane C. Wheeler is President of CONOPA – Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de Camélidos Sudamericanos, Lima, Perú. She holds degrees from American University (BA), Cambridge University (Cert Prehist Arch) and the University of Michigan (PhD), and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Paris. For more than 40 years she has conducted broad based research on the South American camelids, covering topics from origin, evolution and domestication of alpacas and llamas, to molecular genetics and breeding, as well as vicuña and guanaco genetics and conservation. Her current research includes the study of genetic diversity and conservation implications in the Peruvian guanaco, genetic diversity and sustainable utilization of the vicuña in the Andes, genetic diversity and conservation of the alpaca and llama, as well as study of prehispanic camelid utilization in Peru.